The present invention relates to solar tiles and, more particularly, to a solar tile having solar cells with coplanar contacts and method for fabricating the same employing a flexible circuit to interconnect a plurality of solar cells.
Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells are used more extensively every day as an alternative energy source. Typically, a PV solar cell is used to provide solar power for a multitude of applications, both terrestrial and space. The more widespread of the two applications, terrestrial, mainly consists of solar powered consumer products, such as calculators, remote power applications, such as remote telecommunications power supplies, and utility generation applications, such as home electricity generation. Space solar power applications, on the other hand, mainly consist of solar power for space satellites.
As stated above, solar cells are employed by the terrestrial and space industries to provide solar power for numerous applications. Conventional PV solar cells create energy by converting sunlight directly into direct current (DC) electricity, and typically consist of a P-N or N-P junction semiconductor such as single-crystal silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs) or a gallium arsenide/germanium (GaAs/Ge) class of cells with a dual-junction or triple-junction arrangement. When PV cells are exposed to sunlight, the cell absorbs a portion of the light. The absorbed light excites electrons within the p-type region of the semiconductor, and those electrons flow into the n-type region. The electrons build up a negative charge in the n-type region and, through a load connecting the p-type and n-type regions, flow back to the p-type region. The flow of electrons across the load creates an electric current and, thus, power across the load.
Most conventional PV cells use a top/bottom contact arrangement whereby the current from a front surface of the cell is channeled, via metal grids, to a front contact while separate contacts are placed on a rear surface to access the rear polarity. Referring to FIG. 1, some PV cells 10 consist of a coplanar arrangement whereby a contact from the front surface 20 is wrapped around or through the cell to the rear surface so that both the positive 40 and negative 60 contacts are on the rear surface 30. In coplanar PV cells having a wrapped around configuration, an insulating, dielectric material 50, is typically wrapped around the PV cell between the cell and the wrapped-around contact to isolate the contact from the remainder of the PV cell. Whereas PV cells consist of a variety of different material arrangements, coplanar arrangements are typically only available on PV cells made from Si.
Due to the energy demands of many applications, a single PV cell generally cannot generate the desired amount of voltage or current. Therefore, to achieve a desired voltage output, multiple PV cells are electrically connected in series to form strings. These strings are then arranged in parallel configurations called arrays to achieve desired current levels for particular applications. To electrically connect the PV cells, the cells can be attached to a flexible circuit. Each PV cell is then covered by a respective glass cover plate to protect the PV cell from the environment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,697 issued Jan. 9, 1979 to Mueller et al. (hereinafter xe2x80x9cthe ""697 patentxe2x80x9d) discloses a flexible solar array strip employing printed circuitry sandwiched between a pair of layers of a polyimide material. As disclosed by the ""697 patent, the solar cells are interconnected through the printed circuitry as a result of solder pads extending through apertures formed in one of the polyimide layers so as to connect the contacts on the solar cells with portions of the printed circuitry.
Generally, the same type of configurations can be used for both terrestrial and space PV cell applications. But due to differences between environments, PV cells used for space applications generally require a more precise and, thus, costly manufacturing process. Terrestrial applications have begun to use less costly alternatives to single-crystal Si, including poly-crystalline silicon and a variety of thin film PV cells, such as amorphous silicon thin film PV cells. But these alternatives have much lower efficiencies than Si or GaAs, generally making them impractical for space PV cells. In this same vein, the PV cells for space applications desirably have very small spacing between adjacent cells, such as about 0.030 inches, in order to capture a greater percentage of the incident light. In contrast, PV cells for terrestrial applications generally have greater spacing between adjacent cells so as not to require as precise of a manufacturing process. Additionally, the PV cells used for space applications must also be more reliable and longer lasting than the PV cells used for terrestrial applications since space-deployed PV cells cannot be replaced.
In addition to PV cell efficiency and reliability, space applications using PV cells must also address an array""s weight and exposure to the space vacuum, radiation and plasma environments that also typically increase the required precision and cost of manufacturing. Due to cost and weight factors, space PV cells generally require very thin glass plates, typically on the order of 0.008 inches thick, whereas terrestrial PV arrays typically operate with a glass plate one-eighth of an inch thick. Typically, space PV arrays are hand-assembled and generally have non-uniform spacing between cells. And because space PV arrays typically use cells with front/rear surface contacts, space PV arrays typically require each cell to have its own glass cover plate. As such, the overall manufacturing process is slowed in order to separately place a glass cover plate on each cell. Additionally, hand assembly of space PV arrays typically decreases manufacturing precision. In this regard, to raise the amount of power generated over a given illumination area, it would be desirable to minimize the spacing between adjacent cells to about five thousandths of an inch, thereby requiring a level of precision in fabricating the tiles not generally found in hand assembly. Also, the manufacturing of space PV arrays with separate cover plates typically uses alignment pins to more accurately place each cell within a string. The use of such pins, however, can lead to the damaging of the PV cells if the pins are misaligned relative to the cells or inaccurately moved in relation to the cells. Thus, there exists a need for a space PV array that can use a single cover plate, and an associated fabrication method that is faster and more precise than conventional methods.
Not only do individual cover plates increase manufacturing cost for conventional space PV arrays, but they also typically result in both the cell edges and cell-to-cell interconnects being exposed to space plasma. To decrease potential damage caused by plasma charging, space PV array voltages are frequently maintained below 50 volts and/or all exposed interconnects are conformal coated with a dielectric material. While mitigating damage to the cells, the lower voltage results in a significant harness loss for higher power applications, and conformal coating adds additional integration cost and mass to the array. Thus, there exists a need for a space PV array that decreases the potential damage caused by plasma radiation and can safely operate above 50 volts without requiring conformal coating.
In light of the foregoing background, the present invention provides a solar tile and method for fabricating the same employing a single coverslide and/or a flexible circuit that includes openings for receiving solder that extend completely through the circuit. The method of fabricating the solar tile of the present invention is capable of machine assembly and allows the solar cells to be placed such that a single coverslide covers the entire solar tile, as opposed to individual coverslides for each solar cell. The use of a single coverslide reduces cell edge and cell-to-cell interconnect exposure to damaging plasma radiation, and allows the solar tile to safely operate above 50 volts without conformal coating of the interconnects. The solar tile of the present invention may also include a flexible circuit that includes openings for receiving solder that extend completely through the circuit to allow solder connections to be inspected during fabrication of the solar tile which allows for greater solder connection integrity.
According to one embodiment, the solar tile includes a flexible circuit having at least one electrically conductive path laminated between two insulating sheets. At least a portion of the flexible circuit includes a plurality of openings completely through the flexible circuit, including the electrically conductive path and the insulating sheets. By including the openings through the electrically conductive path, the openings define contact locations with the electrically conductive path within each opening. The solar tile also includes a plurality of photovoltaic solar cells having coplanar contacts that are secured to the flexible circuit so that the contacts are aligned with the openings in the flexible circuit. In one embodiment, the solar cells are secured to the flexible circuit so that the space between each solar cell is less than seven thousandths of an inch. Preferably, the space between each solar cell is between three and seven thousandths of an inch, with the space equaling five thousandths of an inch in a preferred embodiment. To interconnect the electrically conductive path and solar cell contacts at the contact locations, the solar tile further includes a plurality of electrically conductive solder connections located within the plurality of openings in the flexible circuit.
In one embodiment, each opening consists of an aperture, extending completely through one of the insulating sheets, and a hole, having a diameter smaller than the aperture, extending completely through the electrically conductive path and the other insulating sheet. The openings are capable of allowing a technician to inspect the electrically conductive solder connections. This helps insure solder connection integrity at the connection point between the solder connections and the solar cell contacts, and the solder connections and the electrically conductive path. The resulting solder connections adhere to their respective solar cell contacts and corresponding opening in the flexible circuit, providing interconnect structures between the electrically conductive path and the insulating sheets.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the solar tile includes a single coverslide. In this embodiment, the coverslide is situated adjacent the solar cells opposite the flexible circuit so that a single coverslide covers all of the solar cells. The coverslide of this embodiment is adapted to absorb the sun""s ultraviolet radiation and, thus, acts to protect the solar cells from this environment. The coverslide preferably has a thickness less than twelve thousandths of an inch and, most commonly, has a thickness between five and twelve thousandths of an inch.
Fabricating the solar tile, according to one embodiment, begins with the creation of the plurality of openings completely through the flexible circuit, including the electrically conductive path and the insulating sheets. In embodiments where the openings consist of apertures and holes, the openings are created by first creating the apertures through one of the insulating sheets of the flexible circuit, and thereafter creating the holes, having a smaller diameter than the apertures, completely through the electrically conductive path and the other insulating sheet. Next, the electrically conductive solder material is deposited within each opening so that the solder material and an exposed portion of the electrically conductive path are in electrical communication at the respective contact location. Then, the coplanar solar cells are secured to the flexible circuit such that the solar cell contacts are aligned with the plurality of openings. The solder material is then reflowed and thereafter cooled so that the solder material and the solar cell contacts, and the solder material and the electrically conductive path are in mechanical and electrical contact.
In one embodiment, an adhesive layer is deposited on the flexible circuit before the solar cells are secured to the flexible circuit. In this embodiment, the openings are created completely through the adhesive layer and flexible circuit. The solar cells are then secured to the adhesive layer after the solder material is deposited. In a further embodiment, the adhesive layer includes a release sheet opposite the flexible circuit. In this embodiment, the openings are created completely through the release sheet in addition to the adhesive layer and the flexible circuit, and the release sheet is removed after depositing the solder material.
To insure solder connection integrity between the solder material and the solar cell contacts, and the solder material and the electrically conductive path, in one embodiment the solder material is inspected during reflowing of the solder material. In this embodiment, the solder material is viewed through the plurality of openings created through the insulating sheet opposite the plurality of solar cells to ensure that the solder material reflows. To add mechanical stability and reliability to the solar tile, the solar cells are secured to the flexible circuit by forming the solder connections so that the solder connections extend from a respective contact on the solar cell through a corresponding opening. In this embodiment, each solder connection preferably forms an interconnect structure between the electrically conductive path and the insulating sheets.
The present invention, therefore, provides a solar tile and method of fabrication that allow the solar cells to be placed such that a single coverslide covers the entire solar tile, allow inspection of solder connections during fabrication, and contain solder connections that form interconnect structures that add mechanical stability and reliability to the solar tile. The use of a single coverslide reduces cell edge and cell-to-cell interconnect exposure to damaging plasma radiation, and allows the solar tile to safely operate above 50 volts without conformal coating of the interconnects. Additionally, the flexible circuit defines openings completely therethrough that allow solder connections to be inspected during fabrication of the solar tile. Also, the solder material, deposited in the openings defined by the flexible circuit, forms interconnect structures for the solar tile.